In a statement, the Tokyo-based company said it will be increasing the price of its snacks and cereals sold in Japan by 5% to 20% from September. This follows the 7% to 10% increase in January, which Calbee cited was the result of a bad potato crop, along with a sharp increase in material and logistic costs.
Much to the dismay of fans, it also joined the ‘shrinkflation’ bandwagon and cut down its pack sizes from 80g to 72g.
While food costs are crippling consumer wallets around the world, it is especially sensitive in Japan, where wages haven’t increased over the past two decades. Compounding this, the yen plunged to a new 24-year low against the dollar, an especially dire state for the resource-poor archipelago, which is heavily reliant on imports for energy and food.
Smaller rival Koike-ya Inc. also announced price increases that will take effect in September.
